Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Hope`s Nose

After we`d been to Babbacombe the other day, we stopped off at Hope`s Nose, a promontory in the north of Torbay.

This is from the top of the cliff, looking down to the quarry at the bottom.

It`s a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and has rare plants and butterflies like the small Blue.Theres a long windy path leading down, with good views out to sea.

The Ash was knotty with buds, and the gorse lovely and gold..

The large rock out to sea is called the `Orestone` It was a lovely warm afternoon, and there was birdsong all around. We were once lucky enough to hear a Nightingale singing in the still of the morning, the first and only time I`ve ever heard it, and it was beautiful.

I noticed the Great Mullein was beginning to shoot through, with its lovely pale green leaves

Thatcher Rock, lies just across from Hopes Nose, and will soon be full of birds nesting, like Blackback Gulls, Cormorants, and Kittiwakes

Another inhabitant of Hopes Nose, are Soay Sheep, which have been kept here to keep the scrub down. Theyre not always easy to spot, as they tend to blend in, or are tucked away under some over hang. We were lucky enough to spot this rather nice fellow, enjoying the sunshine. Occasionally, they get into trouble, and get stuck on some ledge, where they cant get back on the grassland, and have to be rescued by the Coast Guards, who climb down, net them up, and heave them back to the top, `very smelly` is the usual cheerful remark they make about them! One accidentally fell on to the remote little cove at the bottom, which because it was inaccessible, they had to rescue it by inshore lifeboat, whereupon they pulled it aboard and took it round to a nearby beach.....I would have loved to have seen it sitting looking out, enjoying a trip in a boat!

The coastline is very rugged and beautiful along hereWe followed the rocky little path to the bottom

Where the quarry is...Limestone that was quarried from here in Victorian times, was used to build houses in Torquay

Its a very popular place for the fishermen, and theres usually always some here.

Having had a nice afternoon, rambling about, we huffed and puffed back to the top, and home for a cup of tea.